The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Rating: 5/5

Welcome! You have arrived at yet another blog entry of a reviewer who absolutely loves this book.

For those of us who are not surrounded and immersed in children’s and young adult literature 24/7, The Hunger Games is a story set in a post-apocalyptic world, once known as North America, where twelve districts must send two young tributes, (read: sacrifices), to participate in the annual, televised Hunger Games, where they must fight to the death as a reminder that rebellion is not tolerated. Only one can survive.

The good

I could write pages on what I like about this story, but I’ll spare you and mention only a couple of points.

First, the main character is complex, flawed, and oh-so likeable. Her name is Katniss and I found that sometimes I loved her, other times I was wary of her, and I could not stop rooting for her. She is cold, calculating and willing to risk everything to survive. You can’t help but wondering if she has risked too much…

Second, the world in which she is raised presents two very different, plausible sides: the impoverished, oppressed and broken districts, and the exceedingly rich, bloodthirsty, fashion-obsessed population of the Capitol. When the two sides meet through The Hunger Games, is it better to win or lose? Which is which? Death or life?

The bad (?) – you decide

The book does have quite a few violent scenes. In fact, the whole premise of 12-17-year-olds killing each other for the viewers’ pleasure is in itself disturbing. However, this could open the door to meaningful discussions around questions such as: what does it mean to be human? If you were chosen to participate in the games, would you choose to take a life? How does the government use the media to show the violence? What parts do you think are not televised to the districts and why?

If you have not yet read this book, I highly recommend it. It will keep you thinking and wondering long after you have finished the last page. The best part is that it’s a trilogy! (#2 Catching Fire and #3 Mockingjay)

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 25th, 2010 at 8:12 am and is filed under book, Novels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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